


high score: your heart

by missgiantbee



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, POV Alternating, Pining Lance (Voltron), comic shop au, it's more of an arcade than a comic shop but whatever
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2018-10-20 11:09:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10661340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missgiantbee/pseuds/missgiantbee
Summary: Keith works at a comic shop/arcade. He likes the job because it's chill and he can read books without anyone really caring.Lance discovers a cool new hangout, but what's cooler than all the games is the really cute boy who works there.Keith can't help but notice how loud and obnoxious the new shop regular is.Lance wants to get this guy's attention, but like, in a natural and casual way of course.Oh god. He's a button-smasher. Wait, why does this guy bug Keith so much anyways?---Also, Pidge owns everyone at these silly arcade games. Although, the high score of every game is held by someone named "Allura".





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! IDK if the chapter length will stay consistent. Each chapter will signal a change in character POV. This fic starts with Keith.  
> (more notes @ the end!)

A bell chimes.

Keith glanced up from the book he was reading and peered through his long bangs to assess the figure walking through the doorway of the shop. It is mid-afternoon--3 o'clock, on a Tuesday. In other words, a graveyard shift for an arcade and comic shop. The sun streaming in from the afternoon sun shadows the customer to a dark grey, only their silhouette visible. 

“Uh, hey!” Keith called out hopelessly, in way he hoped the potential customer wouldn’t be offended by. 

“Oh! Hey, man!” called back the figure, in friendly male voice. 

The figure approached the counter, and as he walked closer, Keith could start to make out the person closely.  
A tall full-figured man, with a bright yellow tee-shirt to match a large, friendly smile stopped at the counter. He had a forest green vest with buttons that displayed his admiration for various comic and video game series. He also had on a yellow headband that wrapped around his forehead and tied in the back.

“Hey! So, ahh, I was wondering…” started the man. “Do you have any copies of the latest issue of “QUIZNAK!” here? I maaaaay have forgotten to preorder online ahead of time…this time.” The man finished up his sentence with another brighter-than-the-sun smile. 

“Oh, umm I’m not sure. I’d check the new release wall.” Keith pointed to the wall to the left of his register. “If not, I’m afraid we’re out.” Keith ended his bit with what felt like a sheepish grin. 

“Okay okay, thanks, Man!”, the yellow-headband-man gave a quick wave, and then pivoted to face the new release wall. 

Keith slowly returned to his book. It wasn’t a comic. It was a young adult sci-fi book about a kid getting trapped inside a video game. Just as his mind was immersing itself back into a fictitious world of hopeful kids and malicious government agents, Keith was startled by an-

“OH! MY! GOSH!”

Keith jerked his head up from his book, to see Yellow-Headband-Man staring across the room with an open mouth.  
“You guys… no way, you have… ALL of the House of the Dead games here? I mean… all the good ones!” 

Keith slowly turned to look at the arcade portion of the store, and then back at the customer still gawking.

“Umm… Yeah, I guess so.”, Keith replied, not uncheerfully.

Yellow-Headband-Man looked at Keith and quickly regained his composure.

“Okay Dude, trust me, it’s not what you think. I know it’s probably the most basic-as-heck game set you have in this joint, but my best friend is like, OBSESSED with the House of the Dead? I think he like… beat one of them ONCE when he was a kid, with his brother’s help, and he like… thinks he is the “House of the Dead Master” or something?” Yellow-Headband-Man laughed. “I guess nostalgia will do that to ya!” 

Not quite knowing how to respond, but wanting to be a good employee, Keith started, “Well… we’re open until 11pm Sunday through Thursday, and until 1am Friday and Saturday… feel free to bring him around sometime to play.” Keith finished his hard sell with what he hoped was a genuine-looking smile. 

“That’s an awesome idea!”, Yellow-Headband-Man nearly shouted. He pulled out his phone from one of the pockets of his cargo shorts and started typing away.  
Keith looked at the man for another 30 seconds before slowly lowering his head back to his book, when he was spoken to again. 

“Thanks man, I’m sure I’ll see you real soon!” Yellow-Headband-Man waved at Keith with a smile the size of an actual small sun on his face. He turned around and headed out of the store. Once the last bell on the door had chimed, signaling that Keith was once again alone, he looked to the new release shelf. 

The new volume of “QUIZNAK!” was there, with its burly orange-mustachioed protagonist showing off rippling muscles on the cover. Keith was tempted to pull it off the shelf and save it in the case that Yellow-Headband-Man really did come back with his friend. It wouldn’t hurt to be nice. Then again, people always came and went in this business. It’s a small independent shop, what if another customer walked through the door ten minutes later looking for the very same issue?  
Despite his rationale, Keith felt like the guy would be coming by again soon. If Yellow-Headband-Man’s friend was anything like he described, he was a shoo-in to be a total nerd who would opt to spend all his free time in a small and sad comic arcade shop. 

Keith silently moved from his stool, picked up the issue, and returned behind the counter. Keith put the comic on the reserved shelf, and returned to his book. 

Surprisingly enough (or, not surprisingly), no one else comes into the shop looking for the latest volume of “QUIZNAK!” for the rest of the day, or week. Friday rolls around, and Keith is working a long shift. He sighs deeply in expression of his feelings for weekend shifts. When the shop is busy, and he has to interact with crowds is when he doesn’t like the work. He’s fine with people, but he’d always choose a shift early on a weekday, where he could unpack orders and organize the shop in peace and quiet.  
Keith is sitting on his stool, with a new book on his lap, when people start to arrive. Since the shop is small, it really only takes a small group of people to make it feel crowded. Keith nods his head in acknowledgement at the regulars, and verbally greets the unfamiliar faces. 

It’s about 9pm when the chime of the door tinkles quietly against the sound of loud game machines, buttons being pressed, background music, and chatting groups of people. Nevertheless, Keith’s ears are sensitive to his warning signal, and he glances up. Under the artificial lights of the shop, he notices a small group enter the store. They aren’t regulars, but it only takes Keith a solid 5 seconds to recognize one of the group of 3. 

Yellow-Headband-Man.

Keith opens his mouth to say hello, and the see if he was still interested in the comic the friendly guy had left behind earlier in the week, when another voice booms out loud. 

“WHOOOOOOAH! HUNK, MY GUY! You were TOTALLY right, this place is RAD! How did you find it again?”

Keith needs only to shift his eyes past Yellow-Headband-Man to find the source of the voice.  
Tall and lanky, with tanned skin, and short light brown hair. The individual Keith saw seemed nerdy in a suave way. Tight denim jeans, and a grey and blue tee-shirt. He had trendy tennis shoes, and an olive jacket. The whole look was topped off with a lopsided grin.  
Was this the friend that cool and down-to-Earth Yellow-Headband-Man had referred to the other day? 

The friend had began squawking whenever he spotted something of interest, and Keith couldn’t help but feel at least a little embarrassed for the friend who decided it would be a good idea to take this guy out to a public space on a Friday night. 

Moving past the distracting individual, Keith took a look at third member of the trio that walked in. A short bespeckled individual followed the two boys silently; their large circular frames covered the majority of their face. Dressed head-to-toe in baggy clothes, and sporting a rather low-maintenance hairstyle, the third party member began looking around the shop appreciatively, before breaking off from the boys to analyze a specific arcade game. 

The squawking drew nearer, and Keith’s attention followed the commotion right as the boy with short brown set eyes on the House of the Dead collection.  
Keith didn’t know this boy, but from a single look, he knew what was about to go down wasn’t going to be quiet. 

“HUNK! IT’S HERE! Just like you said! Oh mannn, this is legit! It really takes me back to the good ol’ days, me and my bro, spending countless hours hanging out at the arcade in the summer. I totally beat House of Dead II you know! I almost beat the third one, too. Does this place take coins, or tokens?” The lanky boy looked eagerly at his friend.

“Umm I’m not sure, man. But YEAH, it’s pretty cool, right?!” Yellow-Headband-Man, or now Hunk, grinned. 

Before Keith could register what would follow, the lanky boy spun around and look directly at Keith. A moment later, he strode over to the counter. As the boy leaned across the counter, Keith noticed that his eyes were blue. 

“Hey, buddy, my man, do you take quarters, or do you have some kind of token machine?” the lanky boy asked Keith, making direct eye contact.

Keith stared into blue eyes for approximately 2 seconds before pulling back and replying, “The token machine is on the back wall.” While gesturing with an outreached index finger. 

“Awesome, thanks!” chirped the boy, before he bounded a couple of steps backwards, and re-positioned himself to face Hunk, and also the small friend, who must have appeared during Keith’s meager interaction.  
As the lanky boy relayed the information and started dragging Hunk back, Keith made accidental eye contact with the smaller person. Their eyeglasses gleamed, and they grinned at Keith before following the other boys. 

“Wait up, Lance!” they called, as they readjusted their glasses and took big steps towards the back of shop.

Lance, huh?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance's POV of the initial meeting with Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a short chapter, I know.

Lance had been excited when he got the text about a new hangout spot from Hunk. He had just walked out of his afternoon class; his backpack lazily slung over one shoulder, and the color of the sky was warmer than it had been when he entered the building. The text read:

“DUUUUUUUUUDE. SCRATCH EVERYTHING. WE HAVE NEW PLANS FOR FRIDAY, MY PAL. AND YOU’LL THANK ME!!”

Lance could feel his own smile growing as he tapped away at his screen while walking towards the edge of campus, and closer to his apartment. 

“Yeeeessssssssss?” 

Lance trusted Hunk with his life. The guy was the perfect best friend. If Hunk had found plans better than their tentative plot to speedrun a low-budget video game from the early 2000s—pizza and soda included, then Lance would indeed, put his trust in his friend. 

Lance continued to smile at the screen as Hunk’s replies popped up on screen.  
\-----  
It was fairly late when Hunk, Pidge, and Lance walked up to the small storefront located on the main street of the downtown area in their college town. The three friends had already eaten dinner, and both Pidge and Lance were following Hunk’s lead when he stopped in front of a store. 

“This is it, guys!” Hunk excitedly made his statement with a high pitch in his voice. 

Lance glanced up at the neon purple sign atop the doorway. It read: “Space Defenders’ Comics & Arcade”. 

“Hunk, my friend,” Lance started. “Lead the way!”

So they filed into the building, Hunk first, then Lance, and Pidge at the end.  
As they entered, Lance eyes wandered the small store interior. Inside, it was dimly lit, with dark walls and high ceilings. A comfortable space. Lance admired the selection of merchandise and chatted to Hunk about what a cool place it looked to be until he noticed the guy behind the counter.

Long dark hair that looks purposely disheveled is all he saw for a moment, because the guy was looking down at his lap? A game? No, a book! Then, dark hair shifts, and the boy raised his head, and Lance saw his face. 

Oh.

Equally dark eyes, and delicate facial features looked at him directly. Lance froze for what felt like a minute, but in reality lasted for only a few seconds at most. Lance pulled himself together quickly and smiled; he was used to being thrown off-track by attractive people. Lance segued his conversation with Hunk, and almost without thinking, stepped a little too quickly towards the shop boy.

Once in close proximity to the shop boy, Lance couldn’t help but look closer into the boy’s dark eyes. His skin is smooth, and his hair is shiny, but clean. A quick question later and Lance has backed away and turned around to head back to his friends. 

As Lance walked, he noted the small tugging feeling at his chest. This place seemed pretty neat, and if Lance didn’t like video games before, well he sure does now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith POV!  
> Getting used to the new store regulars...

It was another ordinary day at work, and Keith was making sure the token machine was locked and loaded in preparation for the Saturday night rush. He had been working since mid-afternoon, the sky was hanging lazily in the sky when he walked into work, ready for a long night with a large novel tucked under his arm. 

Keith didn’t really mind spending most of his free time in the shop. There had been days where things were so dead that he could afford to spread his textbooks and homework papers across the counter and get school work done. Also, Keith wasn’t the most social guy (big surprise there), and while his closest friend Shiro defended Keith’s case by way of “you’re just shy/anxious/stubborn” with a laugh, Keith knew that he was truly the worst when it came to any kind of relationship. Half of the time he was convinced that Shiro was only his friend because he felt bad for Keith, however, Keith knew that Shiro was a genuine guy, and wouldn’t attempt to strike up meaningful relationships just for a charity case. Shiro had seen something in him, right? It had been nearly 10 years since Keith had first met Shiro; their relationship was familial and comfortable. 

Essentially, working in an establishment that was near empty most of the time had its perks. 

It was Friday and Saturday nights that were the rough shifts, the crowds of nerdy college students poured through the doors with nothing better to do. Keith really only needed to ring up merchandise purchases and listen to people complain that the machine ate their token (hey, that’s the risk you take playing an old arcade game, right?)  
Keith couldn’t help but notice his latest regulars. Apart from it being a critical facet of his job, and in addition to his kindly meeting with Hunk, there was also immensely loud piece of the puzzle that really cemented these people into Keith’s brain.

Lance. 

After his initial interaction with the lanky guy, Keith had been graced with the not-so-peaceful experience of listening to approximately 3 of hooping, hollering, and complaining reverberating throughout the small shop. Keith marked it down to a one-time event. This Lance guy would probably be over the hop after one visit, not unlike many other patrons at Space Defender’s. To Keith’s estimate, he was very, very wrong.

The next week, Keith received a legitimate introduction from the trio.

“Hey”, Lance had begun his introduction while sliding across the counter to meet Keith’s eyes. “The name’s Lance. What’s yours?” 

“Um, hi. Keith”

“So, Keith…” Lance trailed off momentarily. “How long have you worked here? It must be a pretty cool gig to just sit here an- HEY!”  
Lance’s stream of speech was cut short as the shortest friend inserted herself in front of Lance. 

“Hey, I’m Pidge. Sorry about this guy. You don’t need to answer him” She jerked her thumb to the side at Lance. “Like, ever.”

Hunk joined in at this point, “I probably should’ve introduced myself earlier. I’m Hunk!” 

Keith looked at all three smiling faces and gave a smile that was half retail and half genuine.  
“I’m Keith. Thanks for stopping by again.” 

After that, Lance tried to start another sentence, but had suddenly cut off into a wail immediately following a small stomping sound. A puppy-dog face from Lance directed at Pidge’s own deadpanned one indicated the origin of the exchange. 

After that meeting, Keith’s interactions with the trio were limited to mostly hellos and goodbyes. Sometimes Lance would ask Keith a trivial question.  
It was fine.  
Until it wasn’t.

Four weeks later, Keith was working a double shift. Shiro hadn’t been able to reschedule his physical therapy appointment in time, and Keith was more than happy to help out his friend. 

“Your health is more important than this place.” Keith had leveled with Shiro at the time. 

Shiro, being himself, merely laughed and thanked Keith. Shiro’s light-hearted nature sometimes made Keith wonder what was really going on inside the man’s head. 

\---

Keith saw the trio of friends walk into the crowded shop late that evening. Keith greeted them with a small smile and a wave. Hunk returned the gesture, as did Pidge. Lance imitated the motion, but larger; larger smile, bigger wave. Keith felt his smile grow as he set his hand back down in his lap; he slowly lowered his head as he watched Lance make it to the token machine first. 

A couple hours later, Keith was caught up in his book. A princess lost in time, the last of her kind, was burdened with the responsibilities of defending the universe. Keith turned a page and set his eyes upon the first couple words on the top left of the page when-

“HEY!” 

Keith looked up into ocean blue eyes, not for the first time. 

“Whatcha always reading?” Lance cocked his head to the side and grinned. 

“Umm just a book…about space, and aliens and stuff.” Keith responded shortly. 

“Have you been reading that one every week we’ve come in, orrrr…” Lance trailed off with an air of expectation hanging.

“Oh!” Keith understood. “No, no. I’ve read a few books since then.”

“So…aliens eh?” Lance started. “Are you just a casual sci-fi guy, or more of a Fox Mulder-type. You know, “The Truth is Out There” kind of stuff?” the guy’s smile was bright and unwavering as he awaited Keith’s response.

“You know X-Files huh?” Keith couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. Despite being a regular at an arcade shop, Lance looked to be the least nerdy of his friend group. There was one time he sported a Legend of Zelda snapback (worn backwards, of course). Otherwise, Lance wore trendy shoes and basic clothing. He didn’t strike Keith as a big reserve of knowledge for all things nerdy. 

“I’ll try not to take offense to that”, Lance’s face scrunched comedically up as if he was about to cry. “Although, if I’m being completely honest with you here, buddy, I’m more of a Scully.”

“Really?”, Keith’s eyebrow arched, he could feel himself smile. “And why’s that?”

Lance sighed dramatically before going off on a tirade about how cool it would be to see aliens, but how it just wasn’t logical. 

Keith found himself laughing freely, caught up in Lance’s antics. Keith had been pressed into revealing why he was a self-described Mulder, as well as defending his position on the very real chance that aliens were already on Earth, or at least had been.

“Hmm well I can totally be the Scully to your Mulder.” Lance winked playfully at Keith, and laughed airily. 

Keith wasn’t sure how to take that, and just laughed quietly and looked away as he felt the appearance of a slight blush on his cheeks.  
At that point, Lance had started to say something else, but was called by Hunk and Pidge. Lance gave a short goodbye to Keith and headed back to his friends.  
Keith watched Lance speak to his friends for a minute before returning to his book.  
...  
A couple weeks later, Keith found himself looking up to the door eagerly whenever the chime rang. Part of Keith questioned the action, and the other part said, “Shut up Kogane, you know very well why you’re watching the door like a sad dog who misses his owner.” Keith was waiting for his regular trio. 

Lance had engaged Keith in a few more interactions since the first, and with each passing week, Keith felt himself lowkey looking forward to it.  
When Keith jumped to cover another Saturday shift for Shiro, he was questioned. “Hey man, you doing okay financially? Are you sure you want to spend another long night at the shop?” 

“No, I’m good. I think the weekend shifts are actually growing on me.” Keith’s response was accompanied with a sheepish smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I really really appreciate it! Feel free to leave comments, questions, or concerns! I love reading them.  
> B.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been busy with school, but the semester is almost over! This fic is taking a different turn than I had first anticipated, but I'm glad I have been able to get something out!   
> Short chapter, but I'm already working on the next one~

Lance wasn’t one to lie, especially not to himself. ESPECIALLY not when a cute person was involved. 

Hunk had delivered after promising to take Pidge and Lance somewhere great. Space Defenders’ was probably the best establishment in their little college town of Altea. Well, second to his favorite coffee shop (he was loyal to his bitter bean juice). 

Nonetheless, it took maybe two trips to the arcade before the trio decided it to be a routine thing to stop by Space Defenders’ on weekends. 

Pidge absolutely wrecked the arcade games, and Lance wouldn’t admit it, but he was scared to 1v1 her on any game. Hunk was in absolute paradise; comics AND games?   
And Lance? He had his reasons to love the shop too…

Primarily the games (of course!) However, it would be rude to ignore how cute the shop guy was. The employee was quiet unless spoken too, and had a general air around him that emitted confidence. Lance got his name—Keith—and was smitten. He’d strike up idle conversation whenever he could, and stole glances back at the boy when playing games with Hunk and Pidge. Oftentimes, Keith was reading. 

There was one weekend where the trio walked in and Lance had to hold back a physical screech. Keith was behind the counter sitting on a stool, as usual. However, Lances’ eyes were glued to the boy’s hair. The dark mass of hair--which usually fell down past his neck like an unruly mullet—was tied back in a short ponytail. Even though the change was subtle, Lance could feel his stupid heart beat just a little bit faster. 

Lance wasn’t sure how many weeks he’d been frequenting the shop when Hunk asked him.  
“So, are you going to ask out that shop guy any time soon?”

Lance messed up his combo on the Street Fighter game he was playing, and somehow managed to get himself killed immediately after. “Wh-WHAT?!” Lance sputtered, as he drew his hands off the game console. 

“Yeah, it’s just that you’ve been smitten with him for quite some time, and you haven’t made any of your traditional ~Lance~ moves to ask him out yet. Just thought I’d ask!” Hunk laughed out the last part upon seeing Lance’s distressed face.

“It’s…that obvious?” Lance half-whispered. He thought he had been keeping his little crush under wraps.

“Yes.” Pidge stated in a monotone matter, not once removing her eyes from the screen two games over. Her eyes weren’t even visible, as the reflection of the game was mirrored onto her glasses.

“Oh geez.” 

Lance wasn’t ready to approach him—not yet! Lance was smooth, and the never-ending stream of confidence when it came to flirting with girls just wasn’t available when it came to Keith. He seemed too cool, and Lance wanted the shop guy to know that he could be cool too. He’d play games close to the counter, and announce his wins, while slyly glancing over Keith’s way. No matter how often he tried, Keith rarely looked his way. Plus, he didn’t want to be that creep who hit on retail workers while they were on shift. What if Keith didn’t even like guys, and would just be really weirded out by Lance?  
Talk about a nightmare. 

Lance caught Keith looking at him once, but he hadn’t even been playing a game! Hunk was playing a losing game to Pidge, and Lance was leaning over his short friend's shoulder to watch the battle taking place. He laughed and casually looked across the shop until his vision landed on a pair of dark eyes. Keith had been looking up from his book and directly at Lance. The direct eye contact lasted for maybe three seconds before Keith shifted his eyes back to the book that rested on his lap. Lance could feel his insides turning unnecessarily.   
"It’s his job to watch the shop and make sure the customers aren’t acting out of line. Don’t be ridiculous, McClain." Lance scolded himself before returning his own eyes to the screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading.   
> B.


	5. Chapter 5

It was another Saturday night at the shop. This one was particularly crowded, considering it was the weekend immediately following midterms. Altea was a college town, so nearly everything ran on the university schedule.

The music that played over the shop speakers was hard to hear over the crowds, and Keith was trying to focus on his book. However, there were too many customers who’s change had been eaten by arcade games to ignore. Keith finished reimbursing customers and went to check out a game that had been particularly unforgiving when it came to eating quarters. Keith rebooted the game, (have you tried turning it off and back on again?) and started back towards his station behind the counter when a familiar figure caught his attention. 

Lance was leaning against a game chatting aimlessly to an extremely focused Pidge. Keith watched as Lance tried to get a response out of his short friend, but after a few moments forced a heavy sigh when he realized his attempts were moot. Lance rolled his eyes, looking bored, and surveyed the shop until they landed on Keith. A few emotions played over Lance’s face, and the lanky boy strode over before Keith could even react.

“Hey there!” Lance started with a wide grin stretched across his face. 

Keith wasn’t usually in such close proximity to Lance. He didn’t really need to be, considering how noisy the guy was. His presence was almost too big for a tiny shop. His smile was too big too. Shiny while teeth stood out against his dark skin, and even under the neon shop light his eyes were just as bright as he remembered them from their first encounter. 

“Ummm hi?” Lance’s smiled faltered just a bit when Keith failed to respond within a reasonable time. 

“Hey Lance.” Keith smiled back, feeling awkward. “What’s up? I don’t see Hunk with you and Pidge tonight.” 

“OH! Hunk’s here.” Lance’s friendly smiled transformed into a smarmy grin. “He brought a lady-friend.” Lance pointed over his shoulder with a thumb.

Keith looked past where Lance and Pidge had been, and sure enough, towards the back wall of the shop was Hunk, with an unfamiliar figure--both their backs facing Keith as they focused on a game.

“Her name’s Shay, and in case you talk to them, it’s totally NOT a date.” Lance’s voice dripped with sarcasm towards the end. 

“Haha, got it. You and Pidge still got dragged along though?” Keith casually leaned against the machine he was next to, getting comfortable. 

“Yeah, basically.” Lance rolled his eyes. “Except when Pidge is in game mode, it’s like talking to a wall.” 

“I could tell.” Keith let out a laugh. 

“Well…” Lance started. “YOU could always play a game with me?” 

“Oh! Um, well I’m actually not supposed to play the games while I’m on shift.” Keith explained. His gut shifted just a bit when he saw the hope in Lance’s face fall.   
“Ah that makes sense. Sorry, dumb idea.” Lance laughed it off. “You’re probably sick of all these games by now anyways, huh?”

“Actually…” Keith started, “I’m a big fan of the classics—the really old games. They never really get boring. Nostalgia, maybe?" Keith offered a smile. 

“Ooh I see.” Keith’s chest felt just a little lighter when he saw the brightness return to the other boy’s face. Lance continued, “To be honest with you, I don’t play many classics, but my all-time favorite arcade game happens to be an oldie.” 

“Which one?”

“Guess.”

“Hmm” Keith’s eyes wandered around the shop. “Is it here?”

“Yep.” Lance grinned. “You have one guess.” 

“Huh? Or what? I’m pretty sure I have more power here, considering I work here, and you’re just a customer?” Keith looked at Lance, raising his eyebrows.

“That’s just part of the game, my man!” Lance’s eyes bore into Keith’s. 

Keith sighed. There was no way he was going to guess some almost-stranger’s favorite game. So, instead, he named his favorite.

“Voltron.” Keith stated plainly.

Keith wasn’t expecting Lance’s cocky face to drop in favor of a surprised look, but it did.

“WHAT?! How?” Lance sputtered. “How did you know? It’s not even a very popular game?”

“Umm. I didn’t know, I just…named my favorite game.” Keith felt his cheeks heat at the attention, Lance was being loud now.

“NO way… Buddy, Pal. We’ve gotta play together sometime. Even if I have to come here when you aren’t working—I mean, I don’t know if you’re ever here when you’re not working, that’s lame, but STILL!”

Lance looked a bit out of breath by the time he had finished speaking. His cheeks were pink—probably from being so noisy. Luckily, the volume of the crowd and the music made it so no attention was drawn to the boys. 

Keith opened his mouth to respond, but a tug on his sleeve averted his attention. 

“Hey man, you work here right? A machine ate my quarters…” 

Keith looked to Lance, “I’ll catch ya later, ok?” He turned to follow the customer to yet another quarter-eating robot.

As he walked, Keith turned his head to catch Lance turned around and walking back towards Pidge, hands in pockets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know these chapters are super short! I just haven't really written out a fic before like this, so I'm going at a baby pace.   
> Thanks for reading though. I hope it's okay!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance started to turn back towards the games. But before he could stop himself, Keith called softly, “If you don’t want to play alone… I can always play a round with you. But, you’d have to wait until my shift is over.”
> 
> Lance turned his head back to face Keith straight on, the blush was back. Keith felt heat in his own face too; he was being an idiot. What kind of terrible employee invites random customers to stay in shop after hours?
> 
> But Lance wasn’t a random customer, his brain reminded him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm SO sorry to anyone who actually took the time to read this fic and then wanted to know what happened next. It's been like a year since I last updated because of life stuff, but I've still been wanting to finish it!
> 
> I'm gonna start wrapping this up after this chapter, so maybe one or two more chapters left!   
> I had a story line with some angst for this back when it started, but so much has happened in canon that I'm just gonna keep it fluff. I have some other fic in the works that will be much more thought out! 
> 
> If you read this, thank you so much. <3

Another Friday night.

Keith looked up as the familiar bell ringed, and he smiled as he saw Lance’s figure slide through the door. The lanky boy looked comfortable as usual—he’d been coming in with his friends for the past couple of months. Something was different tonight though, and that something different was the lack of people accompanying Lance.

No Hunk.

No Pidge.

Just Lance.

Before Keith’s brain could rummage up any theories, Lance appeared at the counter. Leaning slightly against the glass display case, and grinning with his easy confidence, Lance answered the question in  Keith’s head before it could even be asked. 

“So Keithy-boy, you may have noticed that my friends have left me all alone tonight. , Well apparently Friday was the only night of the week that Shay could go out, and Hunk wasn’t gonna drop his chances for an official date to hang out with the gremlin and myself. Also, Pidge is taking a long weekend so she can visit her brother who is back home with family for a brief period before he returns to his fancy space center internship or whatever.”

Keith looked on at Lance with the focus that someone who actually knew these people would, until Lance guffawed and ended with, “anyways it felt weird not coming in at all; I didn’t want you to worry or anything.”

Keith didn’t know how to respond—he wasn’t expecting that from Lance. So as he stared at Lance like a clueless goldfish might, he noticed a slight flush spread across Lance’s face.

“HAHA, I’m just kidding obviously.” Lance rushed to say, “I’m sure you get a bajillion customers, you probably barely know my name, hah!”

“That’s not true.” Keith stated clearly as he looked straight at Lance. The lanky boy’s flush only grew brighter as this.

“Huh?”

“I mean…” Keith started, “You and your friends are the only regulars who’ve actually tried to converse with me, and didn’t treat me like a human token machine so… Yeah, I would’ve noticed.”

Lance’s face became unreadable for a moment before settling into something more neutral.   
“Awww, you DO care!” Lance grinned. “Well, we’ll see how long I last before I get bored of playing games by myself. Wish me luck!”

Lance started to turn back towards the games. But before he could stop himself, Keith called softly, “If you don’t want to play alone… I can always play a round with you. But, you’d have to wait until my shift is over.”

Lance turned his head back to face Keith straight on, the blush was back. Keith felt heat in his own face too; he was being an idiot. What kind of terrible employee invites random customers to stay in shop after hours?

But Lance wasn’t a random customer, his brain reminded him.

“Is that…. Is that okay?” Lance asked?

“Uh… yeah. I mean, I won’t be off until really late so… don’t wait up for me.” Keith glanced downward at the items in the display case.

“I’m cool with that.” Lance grinned easily.

 

…

 

Some hours later, Keith had the doors to the shop locked, and he turned off the music along with the main lights in the shop. The store was now lit only by the neon signs and big screens from the games. The collective sounds of all the games was peaceful. Keith almost startled himself as he headed back towards the counter to see Lance leaning casually against the glass, focused on a comic book.

Oh yeah. This was happening. 

Keith cleared his throat and a moment later, Lance lifted up his head to look.

“Hunk loves this series, it’s a little silly, but I think that’s probably why he likes it so much.” Lance smiled as he waved the comic in the air for show before setting it back down on the glass. Keith remembered it as the same series Hunk had wanted to buy during their first encounter. 

In the dim and quiet shop, Lance’s lithe figure was charming, his brown hair looked soft, and his eccentric personality toned down. Keith didn’t know much about this guy; and he was being foolish letting him stay. He can feel his heartbeat in his chest.

“So…” Lance pushed himself up from the counter. “Which game first?”

Keith grins, “Voltron?”

 

…

 

“I got you buddy!” Lance shouts as he shoots a villain that was coming up towards Keith’s blind spot. Aliens come at him from all directions, and he is doing as much as he can to keep shooting them dead before they reach him and extract health from his limited set of lives. Keith is an aggressive shooter, but Lance is a good support, and Keith doesn’t think he’s ever made it this far in the game before.

…

"NO!" Lance screeched as his final life in Pacman was lost to a soulless pixelated ghoul. "How did you beat me at this one?" Lance's whiny tone was somehow endearing. 

"Because I work in a literal arcade, dummy." 

"Ugh, I guess that a legit excuse." Lance huffed as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. Keith could see that his poor sportsmanship was partially a joke from the small smile on the other boy's face. 

...

Keith’s hands were shaking by the time he lost his last life in a zombie shooter game that was actually pretty out of style for this retro arcade. Low-quality audio of explosions emitted from the game’s speakers, and Lance “whooped” in excitement. Alas, his hubris was short lived, because within 30 seconds, Lance had lost his final two lives.

“Huh, guess we do make a good team.” Lance smiled sheepishly at Keith. A familiar light pink blush was noticeable, his face lit up from the bright video game screen.

Keith tore his eyes away from the boy’s face, and focused them back on his still-shaky hands. Add sweaty to that. Keith was still gripping the game controllers tightly. His heart was still beating fast from the post-video game high. He wondered if Lance was feeling the same way.He took a breath and looked back at Lance, and smiled at the kind words.

Lance stared back at Keith, and his sheepish look melted into a warm smile that mirrored Keith’s own.

They stayed like that for a few seconds that felt like a few minutes. 

Lance’s gaze shifted to Keith’s hands, which still had a death-grip on the controls. Lances own hands were relaxed on the controls.

Keith removed his hands, and wiped his sweaty palms onto his pants. The atmosphere was heavy in the empty arcade. He continued looking down at his hands, which now rested on his thighs. Staring at Lance anymore would be weird; Keith didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t quite ready to call it a night, but he also didn’t want to keep Lance too late—especially when he’d already waited for Keith to get off shift.

Lance cleared his throat, and Keith peeked only briefly to see the trademark pink flush on his face had darkened.

“Umm, good game, man.” Lance’s sheepish look was back. “I feel bad keeping you late, so maybe we should call it a night?” Lance stepped away from the game and turned towards the exit.

 

Keith didn’t realize he was reaching for Lance until he felt a warm hand in his grip.

 

Keith looked at his hand holding Lances’ and looked up at the boy’s face. Shock was displayed very clearly, but Lance was making no moves to let go. So…

 

Keith pulled Lance, not-so-gently, back towards the game, and himself. Keith’s face was inches from Lance’s. He heard Lance breathing heavy, with a face that maintained shock. However, Keith could feel Lance’s strong grip returning his own.

Keith took the risk. He was off the clock, after all.

Keith quickly closed the distance between Lance and himself. His lips pressed hard against the other boy’s. Keith kept his eyes open for only a second before he let them flutter closed. A small humming sound emanated from Lance, and Keith opened his mouth to reposition himself for another kiss. Lance obliged.

Keith felt one of Lance’s hands move upward and settle at the back of Keith’s neck. The hand curled around his hair, and Lance sighed softly. The contact made Keith want more of Lance. How could he have gone so long without this? Keith reached both hands up to cup either sides of Lance’s face. He didn’t want to let go.

And when the boys finally did pull away from each other, it was to catch their breath. Lance reached down and grabbed Keith’s hands.

“So…” Lance started, with a grin on his face.

“So…” Keith returned, with a smile of his own.

“Maybe I could take you out sometime? Like, maybe somewhere you don't work?" 

“Yeah... I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again! I hope the kiss scene was satisfying enough; I've never actually written a kiss scene before I don't think? So I'm a little shy about it! 
> 
> Until next time! <3

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting a fic online. I love feedback, so please LMK any ?s, comments, or concerns you have.  
> Thanks for reading! c:  
> Bee.


End file.
